Hamilton said he had been less comfortable with the car after its behaviour changed. "I'm not feeling as great about the race as I was [on Friday] but we'll do some work tonight to try to find out where we can save and utilise the tyres and fuel," Hamilton said.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Vettel 'I was not quick enough'

"The long runs were similar but the car felt different today. I need to be smart to work out the changes I can do to optimise pace for the race."

Rosberg said: "It's a great battle we have internally and we are both pushing each other all the time, everybody is stepping it up and for the team it's a great thing at the moment and it's always tough against him, of course."

Mercedes co-team boss Toto Wolff said: "There is no interference, although of course if we have a technical problem we might inform the drivers. They will be racing each other. This is why we're here. They know how to race each other."